Key Takeaways
- Three uses of the data: A fund collects portfolio data to inform an internal portfolio review first, to support companies second, and to write LP updates third.
- Quarterly as the norm: Most investors request portfolio data quarterly, and monthly suits only early-stage companies whose numbers change fast enough to justify the extra founder burden.
- Ask less, derive more: A fund asks for a short list of metrics a founder can answer from memory within a minute, then calculates secondary metrics with formulas rather than asking.
- Prescriptive qualitative asks: A fund replaces an open how can we help question with named areas, asking about hiring, fundraising or introductions, because a vague prompt returns a vague answer.
- Deadline placement: A fund sets a quarterly due date about two weeks after quarter close, so a company reports from closed books rather than scrambling to assemble numbers.
- Requirements in writing: A fund that depends on reporting writes the requirement into a side letter with the company, beyond the standard deal documents, rather than relying on goodwill later.
Collecting updates from portfolio companies on a regular basis is an important part of running smooth operations at a VC firm.
About 67% of investors request data quarterly, according to Visible platform data.
Well-organized, accurate, up-to-date portfolio data helps investors provide better support, make data-informed investment decisions, and share more engaging insights with LPs.
However, collecting data from portfolio companies can also be a time-consuming and frustrating process if you’re not implementing best practices.
Belle Raab of Visible named the specific friction point: "We would always advise our customers or any investor to include a description with all your metrics so it reduces back and forth between you and your companies."
On Thursday, March 28th, Visible hosted a product webinar covering tips for streamlining the portfolio data collection process for VCs.
This webinar recording is not made publicly available. Reach out to our team to learn more about Visible.
Webinar Poll Results
Here are the results from the poll conducted during the webinar. The top three reasons VCs collect data from companies are:
- Understand company performance in general
- Send updates to current LPs
- Provide better support to portfolio companies
Topics Discussed
- Why VCs collect data from portfolio companies (poll)
- Top 5 most common metrics to track
- Founder-friendly data collection
- What other investors are doing
- How to set your firm up for data collection success
- Advice from Visible customers
- Demo of recent product updates
- Time for questions
This webinar recording is not publicly available. Reach out to our team to learn more about VC portfolio data collection best practices.
Related Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is collecting portfolio updates on a regular basis part of running a VC firm?
Regular collection of portfolio updates keeps firm operations running smoothly, because well organised and current data is what the rest of the firm's work rests on. Without best practices in place, the same collection work turns time consuming and frustrating.
Is the recording of this portfolio data collection webinar available to watch?
The recording of this session is not made publicly available. The poll result and the topic list published on this page are the public record of what the session covered.
What did the portfolio data collection webinar cover?
The session covered why VCs collect data from companies, the five most common metrics to track, founder friendly data collection, what other investors are doing, how to set a firm up for collection success, advice from customers, and a product demo with time for questions. The session opened with a live poll of the attending investors.
